General information
Type of Incompatibility: Government
Comment on Type of Incompatibility: The al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya (the Islamic Group) aimed at replacing the government with one that ruled the country with Islam as the sole source of authority, law, and governance.
Date of first stated goal of incompatibility: 1979-01-01
Comment on date of first stated goals of incompatibility: After Sadat had turned against the militant Islamists the spiritual leader of al-Gamaa and al-Jihad, Sheik Omar Abd al-Rahman, fled to neighbouring countries. After the 1977 Camp David agreement between Egypt and Israel al-Gamaa and al-Jihad received further support in Egypt and in other Arab countries leading al-Rahman to returnee in 1980 and to issue a fatwa that made clear that the goal of the militants was to replace the corrupt and secular regime with one ruled by Islam.
Date of first use of armed force: 1981-10-08
Comment on first use of armed force: The former allied of al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya, al-Jihad, assassinated Egypts president Anwar Sadat on 6 October and attempted to replace the regime by rising a popular revolt. In Asyut, a major centre of the al-Gamaa, militants from the two groups attacked police officers and civilians on 8 October in support of the attempted coup. The violence surrounding the murder of Sadat was the culmination of protests against the regime and violence against Coptic Christians, initiated by militant groups like al-Gamaa in 1980. The violence that occurred at that stage (for instance one member of the special police killed by demonstrators) does not count as first use of armed force since the violence cannot be attributed to a specific group and incompatibility.
Date of first battle related death: 1981-10-08
Comment on first battle related death: See comment on date of first use of armed force.
Date of conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: 1993-03-10
Comment on conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: During a raid against the group on 9-10 March, 23 people were killed. The raid was a part of the greatest campaign against Islamic militants during 1993 that was launched after the assassination of the highest-ranking security official General Mahran Abdel-Rahim and his son on 3 March. In a raid on 17 March 10 extremists and two policemen were killed. One leader of the group, Ahmed Zaki, was one of the casualties.
Annual information
This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.
1979
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1980
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1981
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 1 |
| Best | 1 |
| Low | 1 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1992
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 11 |
| Best | 11 |
| Low | 11 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1993
Primary Parties: Government of Egypt - al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 125 |
| Best | 109 |
| Low | 109 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1994
Primary Parties: Government of Egypt - al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 158 |
| Best | 146 |
| Low | 146 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1995
Primary Parties: Government of Egypt - al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 218 |
| Best | 210 |
| Low | 210 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1996
Primary Parties: Government of Egypt - al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 99 |
| Best | 85 |
| Low | 85 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1997
Primary Parties: Government of Egypt - al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 69 |
| Best | 66 |
| Low | 66 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1998
Primary Parties: Government of Egypt - al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 29 |
| Best | 27 |
| Low | 27 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1999
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 5 |
| Best | 4 |
| Low | 4 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2000
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 15 |
| Best | 2 |
| Low | 2 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2011
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 1 |
| Best | 1 |
| Low | 1 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2012
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2013
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 13 |
| Best | 13 |
| Low | 13 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2014
Primary Parties: Government of Egypt - Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 194 |
| Best | 194 |
| Low | 194 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2015
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 16 |
| Best | 16 |
| Low | 16 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2016
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 14 |
| Best | 14 |
| Low | 14 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2017
Primary Parties: Government of Egypt - Harakit Sawa'id Misr, Jama'at Ansar al-Islam
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 160 |
| Best | 103 |
| Low | 103 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2018
Primary Parties: Government of Egypt - Harakit Sawa'id Misr
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 28 |
| Best | 28 |
| Low | 28 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2019
Primary Parties: Government of Egypt - Harakit Sawa'id Misr
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 63 |
| Best | 57 |
| Low | 50 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2020
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2025
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 3 |
| Best | 3 |
| Low | 3 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
Conflict Archive
This section contains annual information no longer systematically collected by the UCDP.
1979 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
1980 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
1981 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
1992 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
1993 Conflict Archive
Comment on Yearly Battle Related Deaths: Result of counting of casualties according to the UCDP definition. Unclear cases not included.
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: YES
Third party involvement names: Muslim scholars and intellectuals, headed by Sheik Metwalli al-Sharaawi.
Comment on Third Party Involvement: In March some 20 Islamic scholars and leaders mediated between the government and the militants, meeting both sides and suggesting terms for a ceasefire. After publicly mentioning the mediation meeting the interior minister Mohammed Abdel-Halim Moussa was sacked. The government then denied there had been any mediation attempts.
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1994 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1995 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1996 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1997 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Comment on Third Party Involvement: An Egyptian journalist claimed he had mediated between the government and al-Gamaa al-Islamiya in November. The claim was denied by the government.
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1998 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: YES
Type of termination: No or Low Activity
Date of termination: 1998-12-31
Comment on Termination: Only 4 people killed during 1999. After the unilateral call for a truce in June 1997, and the following decline in activity during 1998 and 1999, the government applied a more lenient approach towards members of the group. 8000 prisoners, suspected of cooperating with militants, were released (leaving 15000 condemned in relation to militancy still imprisoned). In a June 1999 military court ruling, it was the first time in 13 trials that people suspected of terrorist acts were imprisoned instead of condemned to death. As a part of the new climate the security forces changed their tactics, from mass-arrests to infiltration operations enabling the targeting of those positively identified as active militants.
1999 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2000 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2011 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2012 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2013 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2014 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: The conflict over government in Egypt was restarted in 2014, after having been inactive since the 1990s. Since the Arab Spring uprising in Egypt, which started in 2011, the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula has deteriorated significantly. A number of different jihadist groups have taken advantage of the weakened security structure in the area and strengthened their positions. The security situation in the peninsula deteriorated further in 2013, following the military’s ouster of President Mohammed Morsi. Several of the attacks in the Sinai Peninsula in 2013 were assigned to Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, but the violence was not included in UCDP data for 2013 due to lack of a stated goal of incompatibility.
In an article from 1 February 2014, it was noted that the group considers the police and army “apostates” and that they therefore consider it their religious duty to wage war against the security forces. According to the group, the police and army are “empowering a secular government that does not rule according to God’s laws” and are “protecting a constitution that permits what God has forbidden and forbids what God has permitted”. The precise date of these statements are not clear, therefor, 1 February 2014 was set at the date of first stated goal of incompatibility.
Clashes between security forces and members of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis took place throughout 2014. The clear majority of events took place in the Sinai Peninsula. In late October, the group carried out a large-scale attack on soldiers in the northern Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid. Following the attack, President al-Sisi announced a three-month state of emergency and curfew in the area. The president also instructed the security forces to intensify the counter-insurgency operation.
In November 2014, the group pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) and became part of it. Since Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis became part of IS, the conflict over government was not seen as active in 2015. For more information see Government of Egypt - IS.
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: YES
Type of termination: Other
Date of termination: 2014-11-13
Comment on Termination: In November 2014, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) and became part of it. Since the group became part of IS, the conflict over government was not seen as active in 2015. For more information see Government of Egypt - IS.
Comment on Termination Date: The leader of Islamic State (IS), al-Baghdadi, accepted the pledge 13 November 2014 and from that date Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis is seen as part om IS.
2015 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2016 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2017 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Terminated: NO
2018 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: The conflict between the Government of Egypt and Harakit Sawa’id Misr has continued to be active in 2018. Harakit Sawa’id Misr (or Hasm), was allegedly affiliated to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and focused on attacking targets connected to the Egyptian Interior Ministry and police.
Terminated: NO
2019 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: The conflict between the Government of Egypt and Harakit Sawa’id Misr has continued to be active for the third consecutive year in 2019. Most of the conflict events took place in the Cairo governorate.
Terminated: NO
2020 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2025 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
